In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism--but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.

地獄の収容所で刻まれる囚人番号が、不滅の愛の誓いへと昇華される。本作は極限下で生存を「他者への献身」に変えた男の実話に基づく魂の記録です。凄惨な現実の中に灯る人間性の尊厳を鮮烈に描き出し、読者に「生き抜く意志」の真の意味を情熱的に突きつけます。 実写版では老いた主人公の回想が加わり、記憶の痛みが立体的に可視化されました。対して原作本は、ラリの葛藤や想いを文字ならではの親密な距離感で深く追体験させてくれます。両メディアが響き合うことで、悲劇を越えた命の輝きは、私たちの心に消えない刻印を残すはずです。